Soccer is thriving by the seaside as Fenit flourish
FENIT Samphires is a small rural club who have diversified grown and expanded significantly since it was set up back in 1994.
The club has come a long way in the Kerry District League during this period also climbing up to the top flight of Kerry soccer and have put a fine underage structure in place, which has brought them a lot of success over the years.
Back in the 80s and early 90s teenagers had been playing the game all the time in the area and as numbers increased talks of forming a club were high on the agenda in the barstools of the pubs in the seaside village.
Under the leadership of the late great Tommy Tucker Kelly everything clicked into place on September 7, 1994 when a meeting was held at Godley’s Hotel in Fenit with the aim of establishing a soccer club in the village.
The officers elected were President Morgan Fitzgerald, Chairman Tommy Tucker Kelly, Treasurer Maureen Murray, Secretary Paddy Godley, Manager and coach Jim McCarthy. Committee Berty Fitzgerald, Eugene Farrelly, Michael Crean, Brendan Kelly, Alan Quirke, Jim Mc Carthy.
The new club got the stamp of approval and after their application was accepted by the KDL they progressed to play in the 5th Division of the Kerry District League. They were very lucky to get a local farmer to come on board and allow the club to use one of his fields to facilitate them to play games locally in the short term.
The chairman of the club is Dave Stanton and he has been involved in the club in many capacities for the past 20 years.
“Our players traditionally coming from Fenit, Spa, Ardfert and Tralee and more recently from further afield from places like Kilmoyley and Abbeydorney,” he said.
“Soccer was always a popular sport in Fenit and a lot of the local lads used to play in a Summer Tournament in Causeway, while others played in the Tralee Dynamos Annual Tournament at the Low Field in Tralee. It in funny really as Fenit played in the Low Field in Tralee and when they played in their hometown they played at the newly baptised High Field in Fenit.
“Tucker Kelly was the main driving force behind the formation of the club and others who were fully behind him included Mike Crean, Morgan Fitzgerald, Bran Ferris and Pa Egan. Tucker’s bid to get a home base for the club began to gather momentum in the early days of the club and he approached the Tralee Harbour Board with a view to securing two and-a-half acres of land for a home pitch and thanks to the assistance of David Buttimer they agreed to an annual 11 month lease on a parcel of land known as the High Field.” Later renamed Samphire Park.
“At the time you would need waders to get into it in the winter time as it was an unused barren and stone infested piece of land and its surface was in need of a major transformation to be able to host games. The people of Fenit showed their great community spirit by coming together to do all the work on a voluntary basis.
“It was then ploughed up and the club got in a special grass from Wexford which was suitable for this type of ground. The beauty of this pitch is that it lies on limestone so it is very dry even in the winter time. As the work progressed the winning post was in sight and there was great pride in the village when they played their first game there.”
This went on to become a fortress for the club being very difficult to defeat in their home patch. Like all new clubs they took a bit of time to find their feet competitively in the KDL.
As time progressed they began to strengthen their squad and size up their options regarding establishing an underage structure in an effort to coach young players and give them an opportunity to play in the Kerry Schoolboys League and move up the ranks to play with the senior team.
Then started off with an under 16 team and this was a stepping stone for youngsters to progress up along to the senior squad. Fenit lowered the sails of many big clubs in their haven by the seaside.
In the years that followed the club began to thrive at a steady pace making a huge impact in the KDl and were relentlessly moving up the divisions of the league. They reached the Holy Grail in the 2004/2005 season getting promoted to the Premier Division, which was a huge achievement by a small club of its size.
As the senior side began to taste success repeatedly their schoolboy teams began to make a huge impact in the Kerry Schoolboys League.
Here they were competing against very strong clubs but they held their own admirably and soon more underage age teams were formed and they also went on to enjoy great success at competitive level.
In the 2000/2001 season the under 16 team took a huge scalp at Samphire Park defeating Shamrock Rovers 1-0 at a game that attracted the biggest crowd ever seen at a game in Fenit. Last year the club celebrated its 25th anniversary and they held a social function to mark the unique occasion.
It was a night where every player that ever played with the club turned out for a trip down memory lane.
ONE of the most influential members of the club in the early years was founder member and chairman the late Tommy ‘Tucke’r Kelly. Known affectionately to everyone as Tucker he sadly lost his life at sea off the coast of County, Clare on October 1, 2000.at the age of 49.
The boating tragedy which happened in heavy seas claimed 10 lives and the people of Fenit and neighbouring parishes were greatly shocked and saddened by the news of his tragic death. He was on the ship to give fishing tuition to the crew and was a highly experienced fisherman. Tucker was the heart and soul of the club and it was through his hard work, vision and dedication that the club rose to such great heights. Early on things were difficult trying to get the club off the ground and get as many people as possible involved.
After a tame start gradually more people came on board and a determined effort was made to try and secure a field where they could play their home games. Through a lot of self-sacrifice, zeal and determination the pieces of the jigsaw began to come together and his dream of establishing a club and having a pitch in his hometown came to fruition.
The new pitch became his pride and joy and he was out there every weekend lining it for games and repairing it afterwards if required.
It is very sad that it was when the club were finding their feet in the KDl that the grim reaper took him away so suddenly which was a huge shock to his devoted family and everyone who knew him.
Soon after Tucker’s death his wife Mary took over the reins as Chairperson of the club and is still involved to this day. She attends games every weekend and is always out on the side line cheering on the teams at senior and underage level.
Because of the huge amount of work Tucker put into running the club his colleagues decided something should be established in his honour. After consultation with his family and club members it was decided to honour his memory by dedicating a cup to the Kerry Schoolboys League. It is called the Tucker Kelly Memorial Cup and is played for at Under 16 level in the county. Tucker must have been smiling in his heavenly home in the sky when Fenit won the inaugural Tournament defeating Kingdom Boys 3-0.
The scorers on the day were Máirtn Ferris, Kevin Walsh and an own goal. Pa McCarthy was the first recipient of the Tucker Kelly Cup and it is a very special piece of silverware that the club relish playing for every year.
Tucker’s legacy was embellished further after a joint effort between the club and the people of the parish a Memorial Stone in his honour was erected at Samphire Park standing on the West side of the field just off the main pitch.
While Tucker in gone to the big sportsfield in the sky he will be keeping a watchful eye on his beloved is and tales regarding his involvement with the club will never be too far away when Fenit soccer fans gather for a pint and a chat..
Tucker has passed on his love of the game to his family and his wife Mary was a former chairperson and secretary of the club his son Ruairí plays for the team and is a member of the management committee. His cousin Hazel is the present secretary of the club and is very proud to carry on the family tradition.
Tucker’s son Ruairí and the rest of his family are keeping the families sporting tradition alive and are deeply involved in the club. Ruairí was just 12 years old when his Dad lost his life and the family took a long time to come to terms with their huge loss. He has three sisters.
“It was a huge shock to the family and we had some tough times to go through in the years that followed. The local community gave us tremendous support at that most difficult time as did everyone involved in the club.”
He says his Dad was a great soccer supporter and went out of his way to establish a club.
“He had a huge passion for the game and was thrilled when the club got a pitch to play in. He was up a the field at all hours keeping the pitch in top shape and keeping the place neat and tidy.”
“The club are now hoping to enter a B team for the new season to promote the game further in the area.
”We went close to reaching the Premier A a few years ago and our aim is to get back to Premier A again and fight for the title. You need a B team to survive in Premier A as it increases the squad and good players can be brought up from the B team to enhance the A side.”
He says the highlight for him over the years was the senior team getting promoted to Premier A.
“Unfortunately they were relegated last season so our main aim is to get back to the top flight of Kerry soccer again. It will take a huge effort to complete this task but the lads have the determination and self-belief to make it happen.”